Leni takes offense at Cayetano claim of LP plot to unseat Duterte

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and Vice President Leni Robredo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS

Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo took offense at Senator Alan Peter Cayetano’s insinuation that the Senate probe on the extrajudicial killings in the country was part of a supposed plot of the Liberal Party to unseat President Rodrigo Duterte.

This despite Robredo’s repeated assurance that the President has her full support.

READ: Robredo: No LP plot to oust Duterte

“Related to this ongoing investigation, we are offended by Senator Cayetano’s accusation that the Liberal Party is plotting to oust the President and that I will be the intended beneficiary of this plan,” Robredo said in a statement to the media Thursday after the Senate hearing which lasted for almost five hours.

“As I have reiterated time and again, it is not good for the country to go through another period of upheaval, where the common Filipino will suffer the most,” she said.

The Vice President said that during the Cabinet meeting at Malacañang on Wednesday, she “personally made the assurance that no such plan exists and we continue to support the reforms of this administration.”

Duterte recently accused the erstwhile ruling party backed by former President Benigno Aquino III of mounting moves to oust him by highlighting human rights violations under his term.

This despite fact that the Duterte enjoys the support of the “supermajority” in the House of Representatives.

Earlier at the hearing, tension rose between Cayetano and Senator Leila de Lima, chairperson of Senate committee on justice and human rights, when the former asked the witness, Edgar Matobato, who would replace Duterte if the President is removed from office.

READ: SUMMARY: Allegations of ‘DDS’ member in Senate hearing

In the May elections, Robredo and De Lima both ran under the LP-backed “Daang Matuwid” coalition.

When Matobato could not immediately give an answer, Cayetano questioned how the witness could remember all other names he mentioned except that of Robredo.

Cayetano also kept asking Matobato if his claims against Duterte were politically motivated.

Robredo, on the other hand, said the allegations are “serious” and that the government “must exhaust all efforts to get to the truth with due regard for our democratic processes and the rule of law.”

Matobato, a confessed member of the vigilante Davao Death Squad (DDS), claimed that then Davao City mayor was behind several killings in the province.

“I enjoin the public to remain vigilant and discerning as the investigation unfolds,” Robredo added./rga